Elite Women
Luna Pro Cycling’s Georgia Gould got hole shot in the women’s race, with Specialized’s Lea Davison charging hard just behind. The women flew around the start loop and headed out for the first of six laps. Scott ODLO’s Swedish National Champion Jenny Rissveds was first to attack and establish a commanding lead over the chasing group which contained the Luna Pro contingent of Gould, Katerina Nash and Katharine Pendrel, along with Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing), Erin Huck (Scott 3 Rox) and Larissa Connors (Ridebiker Alliance).
By the second lap, with Rissveds still out front, the chase group began to come apart under the stress of an attacking Pendrel, who continued to apply pressure on the climbs. At this point the chasers were reduced to just Pendrel, Batty, Nash and Huck. Pendrel and Batty continued to attack putt the others in trouble. At the end of lap two, Pendrel put in another effort which brought back Rissveds back at the start of lap three.
Midway through the race, the front group was whittled down to just Pendrell, Batty and Huck, establishing a nice lead as they entered the infield loop at the end of lap three. Pressure on the climbs saw off Huck, as Pendrel and Batty built up a commanding lead that would last until lap five. The leaders sat up for a breath, which enabled Huck to come close to rejoining, followed again by Rissveds. Just as they were about to make contact, Pendrel put in another hard effort to build up another gap on Huck during the descent, Batty again on her wheel.
The two leaders (Pendrel and Batty) seemed content to face off in a finish line sprint, where Batty made a crafty move just past the final left hand turn to come around Pendrel in a tight sprint for the win. Rissveds made it in for third, followed by Gould and Huck.
“I’ve worked so hard leading up to this,“ said an thrilled Batty after the sprint. “Hats off to Catharine for not making it easy! I really just had fun with it, throwing the rhythm off and dictating how I wanted it to go. I threw an attack in the corner and left it all out there.”
Elite Men
Cannondale Factory Racing’s Henrique Avancini continued the team’s fast starts by taking the early lead after the start lap and heading into the first full lap. Three-time World Champion Nino Schurter (Scott-ODLO Mtb Racing Team) took over, standing up and attacking on the first pass of the steep gravel climb. With Schurter taking the early lead, only New Zealander Sam Gaze was able to match the Swiss Champion. Stephen Ettinger (Sho-Air/Cannondale), Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain Bicycles) and Sergio Mantecon (Trek Factory Racing) made up the early chase group. The race settled into this situation for the next few laps, with Schurter maintaining and even extending his lead up to a maximum of thirty seconds.
By the end of the fourth lap of seven, Mantecon and Gagne began to work together and slowly pull back Schurter’s lead. The chase worked and the chasers made contact on lap five after Schurter changed a rear flat. Unfortunately for Mantecon and Gagne, Schurter capitalized on the extra effort spent in the chase and pulled away with ease toward the start of the penultimate lap. Tired from the chase, Mantecon and Gagne fought hard to keep the Swiss Champion in their sights, only to see Schurter take the win convincingly.
“It was a super tough course out there,“ said Schurter at the finish. “You have to be really careful in cornering. One mistake and you’re crashing. I like the shorter climbs so it was a perfect course for me.”
USA Cycling US Cup presented by Sho-Air Cycling Group series standings
After round three of the USA Cycling US Cup presented by Cannondale series, Gagne takes over the lead convincingly after his second win of the series, while Batty retakes the lead in the womens’ series ahead of Pendrel.
The USA Cycling US Cup presented by Sho-Air Cycling Group series will continue with round 4, a UCI Category C3 race, at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterrey, California on Saturday, April 18.
Bonelli Park 2 cross country brief results
Elite Women
1 Emily Batty (Canada) Trek Factory Racing; 1:32:22
2 Catharine Pendrel (Canada) Luna Pro Team; 1:32:23
3 Jenny Rissveds (Sweden) Scott-ODLO Mtb Racing Team; 1:32:39
Elite Men
1 Nino Schurter (Switzerland) Scott-ODLO Mtb Racing Team; 1:30:21
2 Raphael Gagne (Canada) Rocky Mountain Bicycles; 1:30:26
3 Sergio Mantecon (Spain) Trek Factory Racing; 1:30:43
USA Cycling US Cup Series Standings after two rounds
Elite women
1 Emily Batty (Canada) Trek Factory Racing; 114 points
2 Catharine Pendrel (Canada) Luna Pro Team; 95 points
3 Katerina Nash (Czech Republic) Luna Pro Team; 90 points
Elite men
1 Raphael Gagne (Canada) Rocky Mountain Bicycles; 104 points
2 Sergio Mantecon (Spain) Trek Factory Racing; 83 points
3 Anton Cooper (New Zealand) Cannondale Factory Racing; 75 points
Henderson and McConnell Sweep Bonelli Short Track for Trek Factory Racing
Rebecca Henderson and Dan McConnell made it a Sunday to remember for Trek Factory Racing by winning the women’s and men’s short track races, wrapping up the racing action at Bonelli Park.
Elite Women
Larissa Connors (Ridebiker Alliance) got things underway in the women’s race by leading the first two laps of a twenty-minute plus three laps race. A full complement of Luna Pro racers lined up behind her followed by Jenny Rissveds (Scott/ODLO Mtb Race Team), Kate Courtney (Specialized Factory Racing) and Emily Batty and Henderson (both Trek Factory Racing).
The Luna Pro Team took over affairs on the third lap, with Georgia Gould and Katerina Nash taking the lead before Chloe Woodruff (Stans NoTubes/Niner) launched a serious attack. By the end of the next lap, the group had reformed to about fifteen, with two more joining by the end of lap five. It was here that Nash was seen off the back of the lead group, evidently having chain troubles, but determined to make contact with the leaders and chasing desperately to do so.
The seventh lap was also a prime lap, which Henderson won thanks to a strong charge that saw her build up a large lead and at the same time blew the front group to bits. This move saw Luna down to just Gould and Pendrel in the front group, with Connors and Andrea Waldis (Luna Pro Team) chasing back on at the end of lap seven.
With just three to go, the front group sat up just long enough for Nash to rejoin. Connors put in one more dig on the pavement with two to go and the chasing group down to just ten. On the last time around, the lead group passed the grassy descent in tatters, the result of a crash by Rissveds. On the final lip just before the pavement, it was Henderson who took the inside line leading to the pavement and taking the win from Gould and Waldis.
Elite Men
The men lined up for the same twenty-plus-three format as the women and right off the bat Todd Wells (Specialized Factory Racing) was in front with the hole shot, with teammate Sam Gaze just behind. The two Speclalized riders animated the first few laps, mixing it in the front along with Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain Bicycles), Keegan Swenson (Sho-Air/Cannondale) and Colombian Hector Fernando Riveros Paez (Raleigh-Clement).
By the end of the fourth lap, cross country winner Nino Schurter (Scott/ODLO) moved his way to the front along with Sergio Mantecon (Trek Factory Racing) right before McConnell made his presence known with a hard charge on the pavement section after the start/finish. After lap five there was a general regrouping at the front as reigning US Short Track Champion Stephen Ettinger (Sho-Air/Cannondale) made his presence known in the front. Just before the prime lap, Estonian Martin Loo (Hawaii Express) put in a huge effort and built up a lead that took him through the prime lap and lasted for another two laps until he was pulled back by the efforts of the chase group being led by Wells.
On the final timed lap, McConnell put in his decisive attack, quickly building up a lead that hovered at five seconds for two laps, then extended again on the grassy descent to the midfleld for the last time. Weaving his way through the grassy midfield, McConnell had enough time in hand to take it easy and ease into the finish. Wells crossed the line in second just a few seconds later ahead of Kohei Yamamoto (Trek Factory Racing) and Junior XC World Champion Simon Andreassen (Team Webike-DMK). US CUP XC overall leader Raphael Gagne rounded out the podium in fifth.
USA Cycling US Cup presented by Cannondale Round Four
The USA Cycling US Cup presented by Sho-Air Cycling Group series will continue with round 4, a UCI Category C3 race, at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterrey, California on Saturday, April 18.
Bonelli Park 2 short track cross country brief results
Elite Women
1 Rebecca Henderson (Canada) Trek Factory Racing; 26:53
2 Georgia Gould (Canada) Luna Pro Team; 26:54
3 Andrea Waldis (Switzerland) Luna Pro Team; 26:54
Elite Men
1 Daniel McConnell (Australia) Specialized Factory Racing
2 Todd Wells (United States) Specialized Factory Racing
3 Kohei Yamamoto (Japan) Trek Factory Racing
